gallery British Air Strikes in Iraq and Syria increase by 85%, More than 15,000 Coalition Strikes

Analysis of data released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) shows that British air strikes in Iraq and Syria in the first half of the year increased by an enormous 85% over the previous six months.

FoI data as well as updates published on the MoD’s website show that 249 strikes were launched from British aircraft and drones between July and December 2015, while 464 strikes were launched in the first six months of 2016.

As of the 30 June, the UK has carried out a total of 944 air strikes in Iraq and Syria since September 2014 and it’s likely that the UK will reach the significant milestone of 1,000 air strikes this month. More than 13,500 strikes have been launched by the Coalition as a whole, the vast majority by the USAF. However it should be remember that the term ‘air strike’ can cover a variety of attacks, ranging from a single weapon launched at one target, to multiple weapons launched at different targets within the same area. In July 2015 the UK changed the way it traditionally calculated air strikes adopting instead the US methodology. This resulted in around a 30% drop in the recorded number of strikes. See this letter from the MoD explaining the different methodologies.

Strikes Surge, bigger bombs

The surge in strikes over the past six months can partially be attributed to the increase in the number of British aircraft taking part in bombing raids. An additional 2 Tornado and 6 Typhoon aircraft were despatched to the region following the House of Commons vote to undertake strikes in Syria in December 2015. In addition, the Iraqi and Kurdish advance on Ramadi at the turn of the year and more recently the advance on Fallujah has also meant an upswing in the number of strikes.

Within the overall figures, it can be seen that the number of strikes carried out by British drones dipped between Jan and April 2016 (see graph below). It is not clear why this happened but possible explanations include that the drones were being used primarily for surveillance; that they had been taken out of service to be re-fitted with new equipment (a news report showing footage of British Reapers was blurred in May 2016 due to the addition of classified equipment); or even that some of the drones had been deployed on operations elsewhere.

Since April however there has been a marked increase in the number of strikes carried out by British drones. According to our analysis, with a total of 31 separate strikes, June 2016 has seen the highest ever number of strikes carried out by British drones in one month since the RAF began using drones in October 2007.

British air strikes in Syria

While MPs voted in December 2015 to undertake strikes in Syria as well as Iraq, the number of British strikes that have taken place in Syria continues to be small in comparison to strikes in Iraq. Despite Michael Fallon’s argument that it was “morally indefensible” for the UK not to bomb in Syria and David Cameron’s insistence that the UK had to “crush the head of the snake”, just 51 strikes – 11% of the strikes that have taken place since the December vote – have occurred in Syria with the majority of those occurring in December 15/January 16.

Blair and Bush believed that military force could remove Saddam’s regime, create peace and security for people in Iraq and the wider region, and open up huge commercial opportunities for Western corporations. They were spectacularly wrong. Though Bush and Blair have long departed centre stage, the same faith in the effectiveness of military force to ‘take out the bad guys’ and lay the basis for lasting peace and security through flying daily bombing missions over Fallujah and Mosul is alive and well.

Videos

Farmageddon - The truth about the food and dairy industry
9/11 - Press for Truth (full movie)
Iraq For Sale - Full Movie
Let Your Life Be a Friction to Stop the Machine
The American Dream Film-Full Length
America: A Government Out of Control
Police State 4: The Rise Of FEMA
‘Fall of the Republic’
The New rulers of The World
The Israel Lobby
HOME
American Drug War:The Last Hope
ROMERO Full Movie
Nicaragua - A Nations Right To Survive

In the surreal alternative reality world of the US Congress, there are many bills passed each year that on the surface may sound like good ideas — they even give them high-sounding names like the US PATRIOT ACT or Better Care and Reconciliation Act, that in fact are the opposite of what they claim to … Continue reading "Blocking a Medicare Payroll Tax R […]

The Republicans, worried that the party may lose two Senate seats, a Governor’s mansion, and probably a bunch more close races for the House over the counting of disputed mail-in ballots and provisional ballots, are drumming up conspiracy theories now. I just drove through Trump Country last night and listened to Fox Radio as the … Continue reading "It’ […]

The 2018 election looks at first glance like a wash: Republicans gained seats in the Senate and Democrats regained control of the House with enough of a margin to ensure that they can put some limits on presidential power. But longer term impacts of 2018 are, I believe, more significant. In this election, with President … Continue reading "Not a Blue Wa […]

This story was written for Tarbell.org. It is being co-published with the Hancock Herald in Hancock, N.Y. and West Virginia Public Radio’s 100 Days in Appalachia. Fishs Eddy, NY — Most of Betty Rosengrant’s extended family needs Medicaid. They’re also mostly Republicans. Rosengrant, a resident of this little villlage in the Town of Hancock, says she … Cont […]

Here it is. See for yourself the terrifying “caravan” advancing through Mexico from Honduras, set to “invade” the US, bringing, according to President Trump and the reactionary media that support him, “rapists, killers, Arab terrorists, and diseases.” This “caravan,” according to a report in the UK newspaper the Independent, is actually an assemblage of sev […]

[audio mp3="https://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/episode348-lq.mp3"][/audio]Difficult as it had been for the Round Table to maneuver the British Empire into the war with Germany, it would be that much harder for their American fellow travelers to coax the United States out of its neutrality and into World War One. The cabal was going to have to levera […]

PART ONE: TO START A WAR Watch this video on BitChute / DTube / YouTube or Download the MP3 AUDIO or MP4 VIDEO PART TWO: THE AMERICAN FRONT Watch this video on BitChute / DTube / YouTube or Download the MP3 AUDIO or MP4 VIDEO TRANSCRIPT INTRODUCTION November 11, 1918. All across the Western front, the […]

[audio mp3="http://www.corbettreport.com/mp3/2018-11-14%20Fault%20Lines.mp3"][/audio]James joins Garland Nixon and Eric Ladny on Radio Fault Lines to discuss the WWI conspiracy, the lead up to the "Great War," and parallels with today.

If voting changed anything they'd make it illegal? But why doesn't it change anything? After all, it's the elected politicians who steer the ship of state, isn't it? Isn't it? Join James for today's edition of #PropagandaWatch where he explores the hidden history of WWI and exposes the lie that your vote counts.